Cry Effect 1
by Commander Klassen
Summary: What if Lieutenant Commander Calista-Ann Shepard was wearing a Crynet Systems Nanosuit 2.0 (from crysis 3) when the SSV Normandy SR1's Destruction? What if she survived the Collector attack, how would Cerberus convince Shepard to help them stop the Collectors? More importantly how would both Ashley Williams, and Kaidan Alenko react, due to the fact only one is sent to horizon.
1. Prologue

My Lieutenant Commander Calista Shepard is not your typical soldier; in fact the Mass Effect Universes proficiency classes do not fit her. She is an infiltrator with biotic abilities. These abilities enhance how deadly of an operator she has become. She is a Sentinel Infiltrator ish. Her power list has pretty much stayed the same from ME1 to ME3, only changing names of powers. Her powers are as follows: Tech armor, tactical cloak, hacking/sabotage, biotic barrier, pull/lash, devastator ammunition (armor piercing and disruptor). Her weapons have also remained the same: M-86 Python , a lightweight integrally suppressed sniper rifle(similar to the raptor only suppressed), and a pair(yes she dual wields) of M-17 Vengeance SMG's also integrally suppressed(in my head they look like the Kriss Vector, no-recoil SMG).

When Commander Shepard became a Spectre in 2183, she had access to high tech armors, weapons and gear. However, over a century before, a biotech firm called Crynet pioneered the armored exoskeleton. It was used in numerous battles against a hostile race named the 'Ceph' by the researchers, Jacob Hargreave, and Karl Rasch. After the Ceph were defeated in NYC, and Prophet defeated the Ceph warship in high earth orbit, the US military commissioned Nathan Gould, the last official Crynet researcher to make more N2's. Once peace was achieved on earth in the late 2000's, the remaining nanosuits were placed in cold storage on the moon. They were forgotten. Until a VI went rogue in 2183 and an Alliance training facility explosively self-sealed. It uncovered a hardened bunker of sorts, which held a battalions worth of pristine N2 nanosuits. Shepard and her crew hacked the door of the bunker, and claimed four of them for her crew and self. Shepard relayed the information to the Alliance brass, and they made every active N7 soldier travel to Luna base for an equipment upgrade. Although she only had two other human soldiers on her crew at the time, she kept one, just in case. The first one went to Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the second one went to Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, the third one Shepard shipped home, and the fourth one she put on. The AI in the armor immediately activated and required access to a nanosuit cradle, which there was one in the vault with the suits themselves, in order to update its internal database, since it hadn't been used for over 100 years. After a lengthy update, the suit was ready to use. The performance specifications were astounding; nothing the Alliance or any of the galactic civilization had produced anything close to this exoskeleton. So she kept it.

The nanosuit was a feat of human ingenuity. It allowed her crew to survive almost fatal collapse of a Prothean ruin on Therum, the freezing cold of Noveria, the mind controlling spores of Feros, and the nuclear detonation of a Virmire research base. It also is able to handle the zero gravity, 0 degrees Kelvin, and oxygen free environment of space.


	2. The Human Council Member

"Commander, due to you and the Alliance Military's valiant efforts in the destruction of the Geth flagship, we the council imbue you with the responsibilities of choosing the first human council member. Who do you choose?" Asked the Asari Council member.

"I choose Captain Anderson to lead Humanity through these trying times." Replied Shepard

"I'm the Human Ambassador on the Citadel! I deserve to be the Councillor." Steamed Udina

"That is one of the reasons why I didn't pick you." Calmly replied Shepard.

"What is the other reason why you picked me Commander?" Asked Captain Anderson.

"The second reason is that the Reapers are coming and we need a military-minded leader to guide us safely through this conflict." answered Shepard, "and the council would have laughed in my face if I had said that I wanted the job."

"There is no proof that these 'Reapers' even exist; Shepard aren't you taking this too far?" Asked the Turian Council member.

"I told you that they were real, when they attacked Feros, Noveria, your precious Prothean ruin on Therum, the Prothean Facility on Ilos, even when they attacked the Citadel, and nearly destroyed you, still you blame it on the Geth. I should have let you die at the hands of Sovereign, I don't know why I saved this good for nothing council." Shepard ranted before storming off.

**Elsewhere in the galaxy**

Ding! A new message from Admiral Hackett, to Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko, and Chief Williams detailing their newest mission; patrol the Omega Nebula looking for Geth. This notification arrived at Cronos Station, Cerberus' Central Command Location. The Illusive man then dispatched multiple Covert Operations vessels to the systems in the Omega Nebula. They were to track the SR1, and come to the assistance of any crew providing the Alliance fails to arrive.

_**One month later**_

Shepard woke to the sound of her alarm clock ringing next to her bed; it was silenced via a quick right jab. Seconds later her omni-tool appeared, and buzzed; informing her of an incoming message. Shepard threw her comforter off, and the cold room temperature forced her to don a robe. She trudged toward her shower, and turned it as hot as it would go. Her robe slid off as she entered the steamy shower. Two and half minutes later, you can thank military training for that; the door to the shower opened. Shepard wiped the condensation off the mirror in preparation for styling her hair. Cali opened the tub of styling paste, and proceeded to form what little hair she had into a razor sharp mohawk. She then exited to her wardrobe. Sliding on just a pair of jeans and a black N7 tshirt, she sat down on the couch and activated her omni-tool. The message said.

_Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko, Chief Williams_

_The Council has authorized a clean up mission. you and the Normandy SR1 are to covertly patrol the Omega Nebula on the lookout for Geth incursions. Several civilian merchant ships have gone missing in the area. Due to the sensitive nature of this mission the Alliance has ordered that no issued hardsuits be used. At this moment your Crynet Systems Nanosuit 2.0's are being shipped to your current address. The SR1 is docked in 127 on Arcturus's military dock. This mission and all equipment and personnel, is classified TS codeword only._

_Admiral Hackett-5th Fleet_

She got up from the couch walked over to the bed and punching the lump of covers, "Kaidan get the fuck out of bed, were going to Omega."

"Ugh, let me sleep Cali, we were up until 0400, it's only been six hours." Kaidan moaned while glancing at the clock.

"Yes, but the four hours leading up to that, was that not the best sex you've ever had?" Shepard asked, with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, I guess, although the sex before Ilos was pretty amazing too." Kaidan replied, flipping the entire bundle of covers onto the floor.

"Since I'm the Commanding Officer, and the ship doesn't leave until I get there what do you say to round 2?" asked Shepard, her biotic energy slowly flowing around her like a cloak.

"I'd love to but we really should get going," Kaidan said gently groping her ass as he headed towards the bathroom.

"Do you want me to join you?" asked Shepard.

"Yes, but we should really get leaving, so I'm going to say no." Replied Kaidan.

Cali's omni-tool buzzed yet again, this time it was the delivery company. She walked over and opened up the door. A pair of massive boxes, standing six feet high, by two feet by two feet was there. The sticker stated Alliance Military high priority package delivery.

Cali 'pulled' the crates inside the apartment, and the door hissed closed.

Kaidan asked, "What's in the boxes?"

Shepard replied, "Our Nanosuits have arrived."

"Awesome, I missed being damn-near invulnerable."

Cali entered the unlock codes, provided to her by Admiral Hackett. Inside the box was a slippery looking grey thing with metal accouterments, and a mean looking crimson visor.

Shepard walked over to the box and pulled on the undersuit, a one-piece skin-tight anti-friction layer, designed to prevent symbiosis. Kaidan helped Cali do up her Nanosuit, and Cali helped him do up his Nanosuit. She then grabbed a day pack with personal items for the both of them, and the two of them exited her apartment, heading towards the docking hangar.

**Elsewhere on Arcturus Station,**

Ashley awoke at 0800 to the smell of home. James, the marine she met at the bar last night was in her kitchen cooking, what smelled to be, a mean set of breakfast. She got up and walked over to the bathroom, to have a shower when James called out "Chief? How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled please," answered Ash, as she was stepping into the shower. Several minutes later Ashley left the bathroom, her hair in a pony tail, and a towel wrapped around her torso. She slipped a yellow sundress over her head. She sat down at the table beside James. After they were done, Ashley gathered the dishes and placed them in the sink to wash later. Together they began to wash up breakfast dishes. As she was finishing putting away the clean dishes, she received a message on her omni-tool.

_Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko, Chief Williams_

_The Council has authorized a clean up mission. You and the Normandy SR1 are to covertly patrol the Omega Nebula on the lookout for Geth incursions. Several civilian merchant ships have gone missing in the area. Due to the sensitive nature of this mission the Alliance has ordered that no issued hardsuits be used. At this moment your Crynet Systems Nanosuit 2.0's are being shipped to your current address. The SR1 is docked in 127 on Arcturus's military dock. This mission and all equipment and personnel, is classified TS codeword only._

_Admiral Hackett-5th Fleet_

Ashley's omni-tool buzzed again, only this time it was the door. She opened it up and a massive box was standing there, with a sticker Alliance Military High Priority delivery.

As James pushed the box into the front room he had to ask, "what's in the box?"

"A N2," curtly responded Ashley.

"And what's an N2?" asked James, growing more and more curious.

"It's TS codeword. Do you know the codeword?" fired back Ashley.

"No, but we had sex, really great sex. That has to count for something," James countered.

"Touché," Ashley replied, "it is a combat exoskeleton made by Crynet."

'"You have a Nanosuit?" exclaimed James.

"Yeah it's a perk of being part of Shepard's crew," replied Ashley.

"So let me get this straight; you know the Spectre agent Commander Shepard, a member of the elite special forces group, known only by two characters; N7, and you get to wear a Nanoshell! I have got to get an assignment under her."(little did he know that moment was rapidly approaching.)


	3. The Last Flight of the SR1

Shepard and Kaidan bumped into Ashley and James, "Hey Cali, Kaidan; this is James my boyfriend. He is a huge fan boy of you, and made me drag him down here just so he could meet you. So here he is, Lieutenant James Vega. "

After the meet and greet at the base of the secure elevator, the three of them rode up reliving the missions of old, most importantly how the N2 allowed both Kaidan and Ashley to hold off a partial Geth platoon almost single-handedly while the STG operators were disabling the complex AA system covering the Normandy's approach, and exfiltration, and how they survived the makeshift nuke. They arrived at the dock, only to be greeted by Admiral Hackett, and Captain Anderson, and Councillor Udina.

"Shepard," they began, "We know the truth, but this mission is a hearts and minds mission. You probably won't find anything, but if you do, back up from the SSV El Alamein is only six hours away."

"Thank you Sir!" Shepard stated before snapping off a salute. Kaidan and Ashley followed her, by saluting as well, before disappearing into the Normandy's airlock.

Shepard turned left to approach the bridge, while Kaidan and Ashley went right to store their belongings.

Jeff heard the clomping of footsteps behind him, and knew that someone in armor was approaching him. Who it was he didn't know, but he assumed that it was his Commander.

"Joker, before you set a course for the Sarhibarek System, put on your flight suit, I suspect we are going to be in combat relatively soon." Commanded Shepard.

"Yes Ma'am." Joker replied, as he gingerly got up out of the helmsman position and grabbed the lightly armoured pilots' suit from the rack off to the side. Shepard helped him put it on as his Vroliks syndrome made life difficult. He sat back down in the helmsman's chair, and gently backed the Normandy out of her berth.

Three relay jumps later, the Normandy arrived in the Sarhibarek System.

"Joker, head towards the Amada System, it's a short FTL jump, but be prepared to engage stealth systems upon arrival."

**Four Days later**

Navigator Pressly voiced his opinion to Joker, "We're wasting our time. Four days searching up and down this sector and we haven't found any sign of Geth activity."

Joker turned to glance at the XO, before returning his attention to the displays in front of him. "Three ships went missing here in the past month. Something happened to them."

"My money's on slavers," Pressly retorted. "The Terminus System is crawling with them." The disgust was evident in his voice. Whether it was at the slavers or the inaction, Joker didn't know or care.

Any further debate was interrupted by the ensign. "Picking something up on the long range scanner," she announced. "LADAR paints it as a Collector Cruiser."

"Cruiser is changing course." she said, "Now on intercept trajectory."

Pressly looked at his own monitors, but couldn't believe his eyes. Double checking the ensign's findings, Pressly exclaimed, "Can't be, stealth systems are engaged. Why would, how could, the Collectors be intercepting us…?"

His disbelief was interrupted however when Joker grimly stated, "The Reapers have new lackeys." Fingers flying across his screens, Joker yelled, "Brace for evasive manoeuvres!"

Pressly wasted no time. Trusting Jeff, he disengaged the stealth systems and immediately hit the commands to put the Normandy into red alert.

When Navigator Pressly placed the Normandy into Red Alert, it woke Ashley up in the armory, and Shepard and Kaidan up. They both rolled out of her bed, and quickly did each other Nanoshells. Shepard ran to the end of the ship in amidst multiple explosions, Kaidan ran to check on Jeff, and Ashley ran to check on the Karin.

The Guardian lasers were doing minimal damage to the Collector Cruiser and it just seemed to aggravate them, as their relentless attack resumed. Throughout the ship, blow after blow was felt. Systems immediately overloaded as the attack tore its way through the Normandy. Alarms blared and crewmen were scrambling to contain the damage. In the bridge Pressly had only moments to read out the damage report before the beam tore through the console to his left, instantly killing the ensign, and mortally wounding Pressly. As he fell, his final thoughts drifted toward his last mission. Saren, Geth, reapers, and how they defied the odds, time and time again. His final thoughts were toward the crew of the Normandy, human and alien alike. At the thought of the nonhuman members of the ship he couldn't help but think, _the Commander was right, they really weren't that bad. _

Joker desperately tried to manoeuvre his baby out of harm's way. The pilots chair injected him with a synthetic adrenaline to help him focus on the actions at hand, His eyes flashed across different monitors trying to predict the enemy's attack, the damage Normandy sustained, and his ability to control. The screams of the wounded and dying were muted from him, aiding in the amount of detail he could focus on.

He heard the ensign's and Pressly's screams of pain, along with the tortured sound of shearing metal and hoped that they were all right. Through it all, he continued to pilot Normandy as best as he could.

"Kinetic barriers down!" Joker shouted. The heat from the fire from the ensign's console grew behind him. "Multiple hull breaches! Weapons offline! Somebody get that fire out!"

As he looked back at the enemy cruiser's position, he knew that there was no way to avoid the next attack and braced himself for impact.

The Normandy flew as best as she could, but her pursuer continued to persist. Another shot from the enemy's main cannon struck the frigate on her main body. Fires erupted as oxygen from multiple breaches fed the flames, only to be extinguished moments later from the cold vacuum of space.

In one last act of defiance the Normandy entered the orbit nearby planet of Alchera and pushed around the planet to break the line of sight, using the planet as cover in an effort to get away from the enemy ship.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko sprinted through the second deck, moving past scrambling crewmen that were trying to deal with the fires and explosions. Kaidan wasted no time and tore his way through the mess of wires and debris. More explosions rocked the ship as screams of the injured and dying were muted through his N2 helmet Kaidan ran toward the figure in the Crynet armor. Standing tall and calm despite the chaos that erupted around her, Kaidan was once again reminded why, out of all the possible candidates, the Alliance chose Shepard to represent humanity. Her background and service record be damned, they were only footnotes compared to standing before the woman herself.

Her crimson visor reflected the fires and explosions rocking the ship. Kaidan immediately pictured the calm, reassuring, and penetrating green eyes behind the mask.

"Distress beacon is ready for launch," Shepard said, turning toward him.

"Will the Alliance get here in time?" Kaidan asked.

Another explosion rocked the Normandy. Kaidan stumbled, and regained his balance. Another fire broke out near a console. None of the fire suppression systems kicked in.

"They damn well better!" Shepard said as she grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to fight the blaze. "I'm not doing this so they can find our frozen corpses, not that we," Shepard motioned to herself and Kaidan, "will become frozen corpses."

Kaidan grabbed another fire extinguisher and helped fight off the flames.

"Get everyone onto the escape pods!" She heard Shepard shout.

"Joker is still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship!" Kaidan yelled.

He turned toward Shepard and saw her trying to get the fire suppression system working again.

"I'm not leaving either!" Kaidan declared.

The nearby console flashed to life. Shepard turned toward Kaidan and gripped his shoulders.

Looking into his visor hoping to see his eyes, Shepard said, "I need you to get the crew to the evac shuttles." Turning away, Shepard moved toward the console. "I'll take care of Joker."

"Shepard! Karin, Adams, and the alien members are aboard, we are just waiting on Kaidan, Jeff, and yourself," Ashley reported.

"You heard her, everyone else is aboard, I'll get Jeff," ordered Cali.

Another explosion shook the deck. Regaining his balance, Kaidan tried desperately to get her words out. All he could say was, "Commander."

"Kaidan, go." Shepard turned to look at him one last time. "Now."

Kaidan stood frozen for a moment, only a moment, considering defying Shepard's order, but reason won and all's he could say was, "Aye, aye." Turning around he ran to get into the evac shuttle.

Manipulating the console, Shepard finally activated the fire suppression system, giving everyone alive a chance to get past the blazes and into the escape pods. Once finished, she activated the one alarm every captain hopes they would never use. The evacuation alarm rang throughout the wounded frigate.

The Normandy VI rang out: "All hands abandon ship. All hands abandon ship. This is not a drill."

Kaidan looked in each evac shuttle, nodding to Ash, when he saw her, before getting into one with one seat left. He noticed that 2 of the shuttles were still empty, and was about to hit the release when a voice pierced the silence, "Help me! I can't get through, the beam is too heavy!"

Kaidan had yet to do up his harness, so it made jumping out even easier. He jogged over to the fallen support beam and lifted the beam moved several inches, enough for the young yeoman to slide under. Kaidan let go of the beam and it crashed down, sending vibrations through the immediate area. The yeoman got caught in the blast wave of a nearby explosion, which slammed her to the ground. Kaidan, the ever chivalrous gentleman, reached her before she got up and helped her up. He helped her into the shuttle where he was originally going to sit, and strapped her in.

"Ash, I'll catch a ride with the bridge crew shuttle, see you on the flip side," Kaidan radioed.

The doors closed. The hull of the Normandy opened, revealing six escape pods on her port stern and six on her starboard stern. All 12 evac shuttles launched even though six of them were empty, sending all the survivors of the Normandy toward Alchera, the planet she was orbiting. The Normandy accelerated with what power she had left, limping away from the pods. With luck, the Normandy would be a better target for the enemy than small escape pods. Futilely using what thrusters remained, Joker continued to pilot the gravely injured Normandy further away from the defenseless escape shuttles. A trail of smoke and debris were drifting behind her.

Satisfied that the pods were ejected, Shepard turned away from the console. An explosion from her left nearly rocked her off her feet, but she regained his balance quickly. Glancing at her HUD, the brunt of the explosion was caught by the armored nanites on the exterior of the suit and was already regenerated.

She ran down the length of the corridor straight through the flames and explosions absolutely confident that her armor will protect her from the explosions that did get her.

She heard the shipboard speakers blare, "Mayday, mayday! This is SSV Normandy! We've suffered heavy damage from a Collector Cruiser!" Joker yelled.

As Shepard reached the stairs leading to the CIC, he heard Joker plead with the Normandy, "Come on baby, hold together, hold together."

Reaching the top of the stairs, the doors strained to open, so Shepard placed her hands in the gap between the doors and pulled, the augmented muscles of the suit easily opening the doors. Shepard looked up, seeing the massive hole torn in the hull by the attack from the enemy weapon. She saw the planet they were orbiting and the debris that floated around them. Looking around, the power to the CIC was out, which meant mass effect fields were out, which meant no more artificial gravity. Silently wishing she was wearing a hardsuit with magnetic boots, Shepard placed her feet against a nearby wall, and gripped a torn panel before flexing her augmented leg muscles, propelling herself along the length of the shredded foredeck. _Every marine a rifleman, every rifleman zero-gee certified,_ a saying taught to every marine who joins the systems Alliance. Her armored torso slammed aside chairs that were dislodged from the explosions or attack, Shepard saw that a barrier was protecting Joker from the merciless elements of space. Passing through the barrier, Shepard felt gravity again; She grasped an overhead hand rail, so that she wouldn't hit the floor. Power was still on in the cockpit. _Normandy's still trying to protect us_. Looking down she saw Pressly and the ensign were dead.

Focusing on her goal Shepard ran up to Joker and grabbed his arm while shouting, "Come on Joker! We have to get out of here!"

Joker pulled his arm away. "No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!"

One quick glance at any working monitors told a different story to Shepard.

"The Normandy's lost. Going down with the ship won't change that."

Joker looked at his commander, the despair in his eyes was reflected back to him through the reflective crimson visor; fighting the truth that they were going to lose another member of the crew no matter what. Giving in, he nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah, okay. Help me up."

When nothing happened, he turned to Shepard. He saw her focused on one of the monitors and turned his head to see what was up. Beads of sweat started forming on his spine as he saw what Shepard was seeing voiced out what they both knew.

"They're coming around for another attack!"

The Collector Cruiser had finally caught up to the frigate. The Normandy was trapped with a planet below and the enemy above. The cruiser charged its main gun as it closed in for the kill.

A high pitched screeching sound caught Shepard's attention as she turned around and saw the particle beam cut through Normandy, as if they were trying to shear off the bridge from the rest of the ship. Knowing that time was running out she turned back toward Joker and threw finesse out the window.

She grabbed the collar of his flight suit and hoisted him into the air, before placing her second arm under him. The suit compensated for his body weight. She carried him to the evac shuttle designated for the flight crew.

Kaidan came jogging up the main aisle and hit the button to open the bridge crew evac shuttle, he helped Shepard place Joker in one of the seats.

"I thought I ordered you to go," stated Shepard.

"I was, but all of the evac shuttles were full, save two, but I wasn't about to sit in a shuttle by myself, so I came up here and was going to join you guys," responded Kaidan.

Shepard got in with Jeff and Kaidan; she buckled herself in, and punched the launch button. Nothing happened, the fire growing ever nearer, Shepard got up and exited the shuttle hoping the external button would work. It did. The doors closed and the shuttle launched, leaving only Shepard stranded in the cold and dark of space. so she latched onto a passing piece of debris she launched herself in the direction of the floating M35 Mako. Shepard clambered aboard, and powered up the tank's mass effect core, she wouldn't be able to start the diesel engine for manoeuvring but the fusion torches, and the 155mm main gun could alter her course.


	4. Welcome to Cerberus, Commander

The Mako VI announced "Imminent collision take evasive action."

Shepard rotated the turret and gun camera around only to see another vessel approaching, she tried to fly out of its path but the Mako's torches weren't powerful enough to propel it out of the way. Then the cruiser opened it underbelly cargo bay and swallowed the tank bound soldier.

"One last adjustment," breathed Shepard just as the cargo door began to close. With crunch the Mako righted itself on the body of an unfortunate technician.

"Get out of the tank and you will not be harmed, however if you remain inside we will be forced to fire on you," announced a soldier in white, yellow, and black armor.

Shepard powered up the tanks' external speaker.

"I'm in a M35 Mako; you're in a combat hardsuit with an assault rifle. You want to go little man?" commented Shepard.

The soldier opened fire with his assault rifle; the bullets pinged harmlessly off the Mako's kinetic barrier.

Shepard returned the favour by a quick burst from the coaxial. It tore through his shields and armor; he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. Another soldier in the same armor scheme emerged from the elevator, only this one had a rocket launcher instead of an assault rifle. Again the soldier died without inflicting any damage on the tank.

"That is just not fair. How about you exit the tank, and we fight like men," announced the next soldier who exited the elevator only this soldier appeared to be of higher rank due to his heavier armor.

"I'm sure you will still say it's unfair even when I exit the tank," answered Shepard.

"Why is that?" asked the centurion.

"Because I'm N7, and wearing a N2,"responded Shepard.

"I know N7 is Alliance Special Forces, and N2 is a two year internal ranking system, but wearing a N2, what is that?" asked the confused centurion.

"Have you ever heard of Crynet Systems?" asked Shepard, still in the Mako, not quite to yet trusting this unknown mercenary force.

"Isn't that the company that caused all of those problems for New York over a century ago?" replied the centurion, his assault rifle casually pointing at the floor.

"Sort of, they helped stop it, the military wing of the corporation fucked up New York, but the research wing actually stopped the Ceph invasion." Shepard answered, as she opened the hatch to exit the Mako.

"Ah ha! I knew we could get you out of the tank," exclaimed the centurion, raising his rifle.

"You didn't get me out of the Mako; I voluntarily left because I was bored with talking to you. I'm N7. I require action." Replied Shepard.

The centurion was suddenly flanked by two guardians and a pair of troopers. The N2 also picked up two nemesi up on a catwalk type area, and a pair of phantoms behind her. The centurion raised his rifle and pointed toward Shepard, "ATTACK!"

Shepard didn't flinch she just activated the heavy armor module, and absorbed the attack. And like the Ceph batteries the mass effect core inside the Mako had limitless power so her energy never depleted. The five man team in front of her was decimated. Shepard grabbed one of the guardians' shields' ripping off his arm in the process (she didn't know her own strength) and used the augmented strength of the nanosuit, she smashed his head in. Then the first phantom slashed at her with her monomolecular sword. Cali grabbed it mid stroke and broke the phantoms arm in the process of disarming her. The sword made quick work of the two troopers and centurion. The last guardian got the sword through the eye opening, and it was indeed eye-opening. The phantom with the broken arm was moaning on the ground cradling her arm, and the second phantom was standing over her like a protector, very honourable, Shepard though and left them alone. The two nemesi however were constantly taking shots at Shepard, half of them missing. It was starting to anger Shepard. So she climbed on top of the Mako and jumped through the plate glass window on the second deck. The armored torso easily pierced the reinforced glass. Once on the second deck however the nemesi began annoying Shepard. They had stopped shooting and began flitting between various pieces of cover. Cali had a light bulb moment, and cloaked. She got into position on the opposite side over the cover that the first nemesis was using, reached over, grabbed her by the neck and brought her back over to her side. Shepard had programed her Omni tool to be an electric blade, but that seemed overkill for the nanosuit so she just punched the nemesis in the face with her augmented fist. She performed the same feat on the second nemesis. The elevator dings open and a pair of dragoons appears. They each whip one of Shepard's arms, in the hopes of disabling her, and the unharmed phantom appears in front of her, sword at the ready.

"Why are you fighting us, we just want to help," questioned the phantom as she removed her helmet.

"You guys started it, your trooper opened fire on my Mako. I claim self defense," Shepard responded.

"Fair enough, guys let her go, she is no longer a threat," the phantom sheathed her sword and the dragoons reeled in their whips.

"Why did you kidnap me? Where are we going, I can see the blue shift outside this ship, we are travelling at FTL speeds and we have been doing so for the last hour," asked Shepard, now relieved of the dragoons hold on her.

"We are going to Lazarus Station, a secret medical research facility operated by Cerberus," answered the phantom.

"I'll never work for Cerberus," yelled Shepard, her biotics flaring.

"I never said work for us, we just need your help securing humanities future," calmly answered the phantom, "by the way my name is Rachel Ortega."

"Why did you tell me your name," Shepard asked as her biotics faded.

"To humanize myself, we are all people who want humanity to have a bigger portion of galactic involvement, yes we now have a council representative, but what does that really mean? You really think that the alien council will ever openly ask for our support in any changes? The answer is no. I just want to help out, and the Alliance isn't doing anything. In fact the council told you to come out to the terminus to investigate Geth. They aren't the problem and you know it. In fact Jeff knows what the real problem is, and he is about to get his wings pulled, so no more flying for the one guy that flying means everything. Karin is about to leave the Alliance to work in a research department in one of the Citadels largest hospitals because she has been removed from active duty under special circumstances. Kaidan and Ashley have been reallocated into colony outreach programs, because small colonies are being attacked. They go radio silent and the colonists are never heard from again," Rachel narrated.

"What? The Collectors? They're the ones abducting our colonists? The alliance or the council never hinted toward that at all, where is your information coming from?" asked a now concerned Shepard.

"Well Jeff first caught on when the ensign informed him that the collector cruiser was on an intercept trajectory while stealth systems were engaged. Here is the audio clip,"

"Ensign: Picking something up on the long range scanner… LADAR paints it as a Collector Cruiser… Cruiser is changing course... Now on intercept trajectory…

Pressly: …Can't be, stealth systems are engaged... Why would, how could, the Collectors be intercepting us…?

Jeff (Joker) Moreau: …The Reapers have new lackeys... BRACE FOR EVASIVE MANOEUVRES!

Normandy VI: Awooga! All hands to battle stations. Awooga!"

"How did you get that? The Normandy was a Special Forces Frigate. It had a secure communications suite," asked a slightly upset Shepard.

"You of all people should know that Cerberus is everywhere and nowhere. We have infiltrated every level of government, and every aspect of the alliance, including but not limited to the ship docks on the citadel. Cerberus planted bugs on the SR1 during construction of the ship! In fact after the maiden voyage of the SR1, Cerberus commissioned a sister corporation Hislop-Cord Aerospace to design and build a superior variant of the SR1, and your standing in her. This ship has been shadowing the SR1 since you became its captain. Our mission was to monitor and if you developed any problems we were there to provide support," answered Rachel.

"So when the Collectors attacked us you just sat there and watched them decimate _my_ ship and kill _my_ crew?" countered Shepard.

"No, we had lost track of you, and when we found your ship, er what was left of it we thought it would be better if just you was to be exposed to us at first. In fact a Cerberus frigate, in Alliance colors just happened to pass through into that system just moments after the attack rescued all of the crew that escaped the wrath of the Collectors, since the nearest official Alliance Ship was 3 relay jumps away and over six hours. Those evac shuttles only have enough air food and power for four hours. The Alliance clearly doesn't think highly of you or your crew. That Cerberus ship has just radioed that it had intercepted 12 evac shuttles, half were empty as decoys. The alien crew and all remaining personnel are on there way to Arcturus Station, where the SSV El Alamein was waiting in case of emergency," answered Rachel, "oh and don't worry about protocol, our ship is flying Alliance colours because it is an Alliance ship, officially, it is just staffed by pro-Cerberus Alliance military. And no I'm not going to tell you which ship it is or how many ships we have infiltrated.

**25 minutes after the Mako disappeared off radar**

"This is Captain Roberts of the SSV Edmonton; we see you guys need some assistance.

The cruiser rounded up all of the floating evac shuttles, and performed a head count, out of the fifty member crew on the Normandy only 21 were missing, not including Commander Shepard or the alien crew.

"Lieutenant Alenko, where is Shepard, I thought you said that you were in communications with her?" asked the Captain.

"I was sir; we were monitoring her position on the thermal scope/radar, when suddenly her return just vanished. Here are the computer logs." replied Alenko

"I'll have one of the techs look it over. in the mean time you guys are off duty until further notice. Dismissed!"

Shortly thereafter, Kaidan's omni-tool buzzed indicating a call. He calmly left the room, and entered his quarters before playing the message.

/

_Kaidan, Its Shepard, a large frigate abducted me. It's profile is almost exactly the same as the Normandy, except twice as big, it has two tails, instead of a T-tail, and its name is... it doesn't have a name, its painted yellow, black, and white, they just swallowed me up, in the Mako, so I'm sitting in the cargo bay in an Alliance M35, and there are soldiers wearing a modified hardsuit, whose colour scheme matches the heavy frigate that abducted me. The entire crew is human. There is this strange yellow and black hexagonal logo all over the place. the suit AI is picking up all kinds of military-like chatter. I have no idea what's going on, I will talk to you later. _


	5. The Second Human Spectre

"Spectre Agent Lieutenant Commander Calista Ann Shepard N7 is presumed Missing In Action. Her service record will remain active for 5 years or until she is found." Blurted the TV in the corner.

Kaidan watched with benign amusement. His Shepard, sweet Cali was MIA, other than Ash, Helena, Jeff, and Anderson; they were his only friends in the service. Kaidan woke one morning to the vibrating notification software installed on his omni-tool. The message briefly said that he and Ashley were both due for a promotion, and that the service was to be held tomorrow, at 0900 in the human embassy. The next morning he donned his dress uniform, and took the CRT from Bachjret Ward, to Embassy Row.

"Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, please step forward. It has come to our attention that you have stayed in the background while Commander Shepard has the spotlight. So on behalf of the Systems Alliance Military, we present you with the rank of Major. With this rank you are given a new position, XO on a new Normandy class ship. You may return to your seat, "Admiral Hackett spoke, "Gunnery Chief Williams please step forward. It has come to our attention that you have stayed in the background while Commander Shepard has the spotlight. So on behalf of the Systems Alliance Military, we present you two options, either remain a NCM with the rank of Operations Chief, or join the ranks of a Commissioned Officer and the rank of 2Lt. whichever rank you choose you will receive a new position due in no small part to the destruction of your last ship."

"Admiral, Sir, I would like to remain and NCM, although entrance into the 'N' program would be appreciated," responded Ashley.

"Your choice has been noted, Operations Chief, you are to report to the ICT on Earth for the start of the next course, more information will be forwarded to your omnitool.

"Chief Williams, your previous combat record has been reviewed, and due to your involvement with stopping the rogue spectre, and the various other missions that Commander Shepard has taken you on, we believe your skill level is that of a fourth year special forces operator, so you are now an N4, although that is internal to the training school. Members of the 'N' program get their '7' when they complete a mission that is above and beyond the call of duty, when Saren, and his flagship was destroyed you performed above the call of duty, and therefore will receive your '7' as soon as you complete two more years of training.

While on the return shuttle home, Kaidan couldn't stop thinking about her, about his Shepard, now that he was the same rank as her, he felt it was his duty to do something about it. So he wrote up a memo and routed it through all the proper channels. It was over 6 months before he finally got an audience with the Council. Dressed in his Alliance Blues, he spoke with an authority that had only been seen once before, when Commander Shepard had spoke in front of them detailing the imminent Reaper threat.

"Major Alenko," the Asari's voice was soft but commanding.

"Please kneel."

Kaidan looked at the floor and then at the Admiral, who nodded, smiling. Were they really going to do this now? He got down on his knees and the podiums where the Councillors' were suddenly detached and slid towards him. They got off of the podiums and approached the Major.

"It is the decision of the Council that you, Major Kaidan Alenko, be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," the Asari's voice boomed throughout the hall, powerful and commanding.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged from the fire of service in battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file. You, Major Kaidan Alenko, have proven yourself to be forged from that fire and have done actions that elevate you above all others," he spoke firmly. "Will you, Major Kaidan Alenko, continue to prove yourself worthy of our choice, worthy to be called one who has ascended above the normal bounds of battle?

"I will," Kaidan answered.

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will. You, Major Kaidan Alenko, have proven yourself to hold the symbols governed by the Spectres," her voice was commanding. "Will you, Major Kaidan Alenko, continue to uphold these ideals, to be the right hand of the council and be the instrument of our will?"

"I will," Kaidan answered.

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold. You, Major Kaidan Alenko, have proven yourself willing to bear this burden," the Turian's voice was oddly strong. "Will you, Major Kaidan Alenko, continue to bear the weight of being the protector of the galactic peace, to be the first and last line of defence and to uphold the safety of the galaxy?"

"I will," Kaidan, answered.

Then Councillor Udina turned and pulled an ancient ornately etched sword from a display. He proceeded to tap Kaidan's left shoulder, and his right shoulder, followed by the top of his head.

"Major Alenko please stand." Udina Stated. "When you arrived today, you were Major Kaidan Alenko, an Alliance Marine. When you leave, you will be Spectre Major Kaidan Alenko, agent of the Citadel and the Council Races."

To all who stood there, he seemed taller, stronger and more confident than when he arrived. None knew if this was a trick the Citadel played on their minds, or if there was some sort of magic. What they did know was that Kaidan Alenko had changed tremendously from the beginning of the ceremony to the end.

"You are the second human Spectre, Major," the Asari smiled at her. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species." Kaidan smiled back at them all.

"I'm honoured," he told them.

After the ceremony ended Admiral Anderson sought out Kaidan, whose grin had still not disappeared.

"Kaidan, your first mission as a Spectre will be to find out what happened to Cali. Your new ship is also a Normandy Class, it is in dock 422. It is fully staffed and awaited your presence. Do to your new status, the Alliance thought that you can keep the N2, as a gift, therefore any new armor the C-Sec Academy Requisitions Office has, is probably sub-standard. Although you are a Sentinel, you might want to get some upgrades."

Kaidan arrived at dock 422; ironically it was the same dock that the SR1 used, when he flew with Shepard, Jeff, Karin, and Ash.

"This is Major Alenko speaking," Kaidan spoke from his heart, bringing the crew to attention. "We have our orders. Find Shepard and bring her home. She's a Spectre agent abducted by persons unknown. Her captors will not go down without a fight. But neither shall we! We will not go down without a fight, not because I say so, or because the Council says so, but because we say so! Humanity says so! Every individual in the galaxy says so! They have spoken and we have answered! They want us to prove that we can fight for them all and we shall prove that very thing! We shall prove that humanity is not just another race they can disregard as just another backwater race that needs to be taught a lesson! We shall prove that we won't go down without a fight!"

The crew paid full attention, not because it was their Commanding Officer speaking, but because they wanted to hear this. They wanted to know what they were up against and Major Alenko was telling them just that.

"They will be waiting for us! I say we don't let them wait any longer! I say we let them know just how strong we are! I say we let them know just how powerful we are! And before this is over, they will make them wish they hadn't taken her!"

Kaidan released the button and breathed again, out of breath.

"Well said, Major," The helmsman said. "Shepard would be proud."

"No she wouldn't, she would be angry with the council, that it took them this long to do something about her. She saved their god-damned lives, and how do they repay her? They send her on a bogus mission, because they are too lazy to do something about it. Now I see why so many Alliance soldiers are xenophobes." Kaidan told him. "She gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail! I won't fail! Take us to Omega; we'll start at her last known position."


	6. Tale of a Hero

The first recruit was a Turian mercenary currently going by the name of Archangel. After assisting him in defeating the three largest mercenary gangs on Omega. He revealed himself as Garrus Vakarian. The second recruit was also located on omega. He was a genius Salarian scientist currently curing a collector invented plague being spread around by highly adaptable Vorcha mercenaries. After returning order to the sector the good doctor joined Shepard's crew. The third member of the crew was also a mercenary who was found turning in a bounty on omega. After assisting Zaeed Massani in removing the Blue Sun Mercenary group from the facility and assassinating his old partner-turned attempted killer, Vido Santiago, at an Eldfell-Ashland Energy fuel refinery. The fourth recruit was a super biotic named Jacqueline Nought, who hated Cerberus as much as Shepard did, so it's a good thing that she had repainted the Affliction from Cerberus colors to a color scheme that matched the Nanosuits. Silver and black, with crimson accents. Shepard broke Jack out of a super-max prison facility guarded by a Turian warden who thought he was doing the galaxy a favour by blackmailing governments with the threat of releasing dangerous criminals. Shepard corrected the error of his ways, and he gained respect in the galactic fifth recruit was supposed to be a battle hardened krogan warlord, but instead it turned out to be his creation, a super krogan combined with collector tech. An egotistical Blue Suns Commander wanted an army of controllable tank bred krogan, in order to defeat any enemy she wished. Reasoning didn't seem to work on her and Shepard was forced to kill sixth member of the crew was a galaxy renowned thief. After forcibly retrieving her dead friends' graybox, form the arms dealer Donovan Hock, Kasumi Goto joined the squad.

Then the first piece of hard intelligence came in, Elysium had just gone radio silent. Joker prepped the ship for a hard burn to reach the planet as soon as possible.

"Elysium Aerospace Control, MSV Affliction requesting a dock with cargo bay access," asked Jeff.

"MSV Affliction, we are preparing dock Seven Golf for your ship," replied Elysium control.

"Golf? Why are they sending me to the ground dock?" "Uh, Elysium control, our displacement is too great for an atmospheric entry, is there a spot open in your space dock?" inquired Jeff.

"Oh sorry there Affliction our LADAR has been acting up lately, the scans are just coming in. Uh yeah dock Sierra Twelve is open," replied Elysium Control.

Jeff eased the ship into dock, and the clamps softly engaged. The gangway slid into place, and sealed up against the body of the MSV Affliction. Shepard and Garrus left the ship and boarded the shuttle to the ground.

The door to the shuttle hissed open and the familiar blinding sun hit them square in the face. Once their eyes adjusted Shepard looked over to the right, and motioned Garrus to follow. He noticed that Shepard was watching the fresh soldiers.

"I was once that green Garrus. Yeah it was just over eight years ago that I arrived on Elysium for the first time. It was my first extra-solar posting since I got picked for Alliance Special Forces," they continued out of the main lobby area and walked for a bit, "I took out a pair of patrolling Batarians with throwing knives down that alley." Shepard added as they continued walking through the city of Sasaei.

Shepard vanished into the luxurious Imperial Hotel and Garrus almost lost her, in fact he did lose her. He had to check his visor for her location, which identified her as 10m to his left inside the rather large hotel. He saw Shepard waiting in line at the concierge desk. Her turn was about to come up, and Garrus, still in full armor, approached her.

"Watch this," she said to Garrus via comms.

"Hello, I would like the Shepard suite please," asked Shepard who hadn't yet removed her helmet/mask.

"I'll need to see your face ma'am, in order to verify… omigod you're her!" exclaimed the attendant, which promptly alerted the security force.

"Is everything all right here sir?" The guards asked the concierge.

"Uh yeah no problem, its just Commander Shepard is here, and she just booked the Shepard Suite," the concierge exclaimed.

"Seriously? _The_ Commander Shepard has arrived on Elysium."

"Guys! Seriously, not so loud, I want to be left alone. No parades no nothing, I'm a civilian today, just wearing a really high tech suit of armor," whispered Cali.

"You don't have to pay for the suite ma'am in fact you are a member of our VIP program.

"Really Shepard? You probably gave that poor man a heart attack, exciting him like that, besides how come you never told me you were a hometown hero? I thought I knew everything about you, after we took down Saren," Garrus said over comms.

"Come on we have a luxury suite to use, I'll tell you all about Elysium up there, in private," she added. They boarded the elevator and took it to the 20th floor, room 01. Both Shepard and Garrus removed their armor; Shepard walked over to the mini-bar and called out, "Garrus! You want anything?"

"Do they have Turian Whiskey?" asked the battered veteran.

"Uh yeah, there is a Palaven Classic 2154 here, is that a good year?" asked Cali.

"Oh, a 2154. It's not the best year, a 2155 is better though," responded Garrus.

"and why is a 2154 bad?" asked Shepard.

"a certain human was born that would change the galaxy" retorted Garrus.

"Well I know that but, do human historical events really change liquor in the Turian distilleries?" asked Shepard.

"No, but I want to hear about Elysium. So start from the top, I know that you arrived on Elysium, in 2175 following completion of your N6 courses at the ICT in Brazil. That's what you've told me, the news told me that an unnamed soldier saved the city of Sasaei from Batarian pirates, and that over three battalions were decimated." Replied Garrus.

"Well I might as well start right from the beginning then;

I was relaxing on the roof of this very hotel when the Alliance Emergency Broadcast system announced that there were Batarian pirate ships in low atmosphere, and that they had destroyed the two frigates on patrol. (At this time there was no planetary defence cannon system in place, in fact they built it shortly after the dust had cleared) after the alert, I ran down three flights of stairs to my room on the 17th floor. (I had just arrived, and wanted some time to myself, I wasn't due to check into the base for another week. I had all my gear with me, so I threw on my armor and equipped my weapons, which I still use today. The battlefield was about 20 kilometers from the hotel, there was no way I could reach it on foot, so I broke the window and jumped onto a passing VI taxi. I reprogramed it to take me to the battlefield. As I began my approach, a general was talking with some of his personnel guards. Batarian royal guards, (they are Batarian spec ops) they just peppered the bottom of the taxi, hoping to bring it down. I knew that I could kill two birds with one stone (old human saying) by destroying the hacked taxi, and the two royal guards. I disabled the mass effect core shielding, and the containment field. I then placed a disruptor grenade on a 15 sec timer, before back flipping into cloak onto a nearby 3 story building. The taxi landed about a meter in front of the two soldiers and then the grenade went off, detonating the core and vaporizing the soldiers, along with anything else in a 5m radius.

The next thing that happened is I scanned common Alliance frequencies to see if I could link up, fortunately there was, it was being used by the last alliance marines left alive, and they were currently getting suppressed by Batarian gunners. Six gunners. They asked for help and I volunteered. Since I couldn't see squat from my position on the ground I climbed the nearby radio tower. Then I saw it, they were getting suppressed on three sides and a sixth Batarian was in the process of flanking the squad. So I pulled out my lightweight Python sniper, it was integrally suppressed, and I fired. Six shots, only seconds between each shot. All six landed perfect headshots. I radioed back and told them the coast is clear, all the while hoping they would ask me to link up with them. They asked me where my squad was, and I told I was on leave. They asked if I could join them. So I hooked into the guy wire leading to their position, I slid down the wire, cloaked, and unhooked, landing just under 2 meters from their location, I uncloaked and surprised the shit out of the squad. They were in disarray, you see there CO got taken out by a sniper, and then they got surrounded but machine gun fire. So again I volunteered to take command, actually I gave them a hell of a pep talk. We moved through the city, clearing out small pockets of resistance, until we hit this one house. It was particularly gruesome. A Batarian commander and his personal guard had thought it would be fun to rape some of the civilian women. We breached the room and they were currently engaged in the act with a pair of young girls who were screaming in agony, they died slowly and painfully, whereas the commander on the second floor was raping what appeared to be the girls' mother, who was trying to scream but had her panties shoved in her mouth. I threw one knife at the commander's hand pinning it to the chair he was raping the mother across. He grabbed his sidearm and pointed it at her head 'back off or ill kill her'. Chief Anders got his attention and I left the room, to cloak and return. I snuck up to the soldier and drew my tanto, I placed it at his neck, but even in the highly vulnerable state he was currently in he said 'you don't have the stones to kill me'. So I moved my knife down to his cock, he immediately shriveled up and said in a very panicky voice 'his name is General Torvek, he lead the assault and said we could have our way with the women, but to kill the men. He is currently holed up in the new alliance armory on the other side of the city.' I stabbed him in the face, right through his helmet, it felt good. I also left a 10K credit chit to help the family recover, if they could, before leaving the house and advancing toward the new armory. We, the squad and I, approached a small rise before an area of undeveloped brush. There were three battalions of Batarian general infantry, mixed in with specialists and the like. The squad wanted to stay out of a full frontal assault but the only other route to the armory would take us a day to get there. I wanted the bastard to pay so I supercharged my kinetic barriers, pulled up a biotic barrier, and activated my tech armor, before charging out into the fray. According to the gun cams on my SMG's I fired somewhere around 12000 rounds each (dual wielding) not including the fact that I had long range cover fire and short range cover fire along with a missile every once and a while. The gun cam calculated that I had personally killed around 2700 Batarian soldiers whereas the rest of the squad (4 men and a woman) had killed about 700. As I was decimating their force I did receive damage, it's just that the adrenaline in my system overpowered the pain receptors. After I had reached the armory, I collapsed. While I lay there, I saw a small corvette leave atom, knowing that the evil bastard that orchestrated this attack was escaping."

Shepard pulled her shirt off. "Right here," Shepard pointed out a long scar under the curve of her right breast, "was where one of the guidance fins from a missile tore through my chest plate. These three bullet wounds are from the coaxial gun on a M-080 tank, my barriers, and tech armor depleted most of the kinetic energy, although the high caliber round still had enough force to penetrate my ablative plate and bury themselves into my chest. This one here," Shepard pointed to a pucker mark on her hand, "happened when a round from the M-777 anti-materiel sniper rifle that Corporal Terna was using, pierced my hand and grip of my SMG, after killing two nearby heavily armored specialists with missile launchers. Oh and when I collapsed, it was because my left knee had bent backwards, due to a pistol shot from a lucky Batarian which pierced the thin undersuit, shattered my kneecap. I was in surgery for weeks and in rehab for months learning how to walk again. But when all of that was said and done I received my 7. I was officially one of the best."

Just then the Alliance Emergency Broadcast system went loud.

ALERT INBOUND COLLECTOR CRUISER.

ALL ALLIANCE MILITARY MEMBERS REPORT TO ARMORIES FOR EQUIPMENT ISSUE.

"It's about time, the intel we received hinted at a collector assault on this planet. Suit up Garrus lets go kick some ass." "Jeff send the rest of the away team down, we have to make a plan." Shepard said.


End file.
